Plasma screens vs LCD screens

chrism2007

why are plasma screens generally cheaper than lcd screens although on paper they seem to have better spec? i understand they use more power but thats not really that big a deal

ive also noticed that shops give less of a warranty on the plasmas. especially 3 and 5 year options

are they less reliable?

tempted to buy a 50 inch plasma rather than a 42 inch lcd for the same money

is it gonna last in the long term?

cnocbui

LCD panels are both expensive and difficult to make in large sizes. There is a relatively high defect rate so panels that don't pass muster have to be discarded and the cost of making them recouped from the defect free panels which are eventually sold.

So LCD panels are more expensive to manufacture in large sizes than Plasma screens.

Ironically, Plasma screens, though cheaper, give better picture quality than LCDs.

Plasma screens used to have life expectancy issues. These days Panasonic quotes something like 60,000 hrs for Plasma panels which is over 30 years of average viewing so it is no longer an issue.

I would suggest you get a 50" plasma rather than a 42" LCD. I did, and couldn't be happier.

Get a Panasonic or Pioneer.

chrism2007

thats exactly the type of answer i wanted.

do you mind me asking what one you went for? im guessing panasonic or pioneer

might get this one myself

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0991191990.1254771851@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfgadeihjfejfkcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=304414&category_oid=-31895

Neilw

I have a 46 G10L Panasonic and couldn't be happier with it. Amazing picture on high def. I find the picture on plasma looks far more lifelike and lcd's very artificial.

Overheal

LCDs earn a premium due to convenience of size and dimension; and because of the high failure rate during production as mentioned. howstuffworks.com has a good overview of both technologies. Plasma is comparable, just heavier and more power hungry. bright, good viewing angle. LCD might work better at shorter viewing distances but that should not be a problem for sitting at least 8 feet away from the screen.

cnocbui

chrism2007 wrote: »

thats exactly the type of answer i wanted.

do you mind me asking what one you went for? im guessing panasonic or pioneer

might get this one myself

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0991191990.1254771851@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfgadeihjfejfkcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=304414&category_oid=-31895

I got a Panasonic 50PZ81B -> http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/TH-50PZ81B/Overview/870433/index.html

It is a UK market set which has an inbuilt freesat receiver with an MPEG-4 decoder for HD sat channels.

Although it has a UK market Freeview DVB receiver, because of the MPEG-4 decoder, it can decode the Irish DTT test transmissions 'at the moment', but may not be able to when/if the system goes live. There is a thread on the technical ins and outs of this particular problem somewhere.

Mine is a previous generation set and it is fantastic. The current generation of these have even better tech specs and so must be that much better.

The picture quality on the BBC HD sat channel is such that it is more akin to having a window in your room than a TV. On one nature program, my cat tried to climb through to get at the prey. :eek: